KnittyOtter

FO: Branching Out in Alpaca & Silk

I LOVE this scarf on George!! :D

It really makes his eyes and gaping mouth pop. *L*

Speaking of George, check out Walter Greatshell's blog! In this post he featured George. Isn't that sweet. Zombie Love for everyone! :D

Last March I started Branching Out. This past February I got around to finishing it. The sad thing was that it only took about two weeks to knit. One week last March and one week this February. This was a very simple project that I'm sure would have gone a lot faster had I used the chart. *hangs head in shame*

Instead I used the written lace pattern. The year long stand off to complete this came from my lack of keeping track of which row I was on. Then I started a bunch of other projects...

I, KnittyOtter, had an addiction with casting on to new things. I've never been very good at that whole project monogamy thing. I blame that bad relationship with that RockStar back when I first started knitting. Boring Bastard ruined me and now I'm always looking for the next big high.

This year I have decided to make a change. I will try to work on only one or two projects at a time rather than 5 or 7. But first I have to finish up all those projects waiting around for my attention. So in order for me to start Madli on time I wanted to make sure I had one of my lace projects completed. I also completed a pair of socks figuring before I start any new project this year I will need to complete two or more that are unfinished.

Here's the detail shot:

Started: March 11 2008

Completed: February 18 2009
Pattern: Branching Out
Size: 6' 11" long and 6.5" wide
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk - Peacock
Yardage: 2 skeins = 292.0 yards - I had just a yard or so left over.
Needles: Bryspun US 7 16" Circs now a pale shade of peacock...
For: Me!
Purchased at: Jimmy Beans Wool in Reno, Nevada

This really is a great beginning lace pattern. After having completed this I felt way more comfortable starting something with lace weight yarn and a more complicated pattern such as Madli. Although somehow Madli seem's even easier than Branching Out, but that may just be some weird perspective I have now after Rachel talked to me about reading my lace. :D She also gave me a tip about adding a Yarn Over without ripping back if you forget to add one. I've done that twice now and what a relief not having to frog back over nupps! *L*

The yarn was also a dream to knit with, Mmmm Alpaca and Silk.... So Soft!

Here's one last modeled shot with George. This one shows the color best as it truly is.

Madli Update: Last night I finished the 5th pattern repeat of the center chart… after having to rip back a few rows because I lost a stitch somewhere and got off balance. I think I K2tog'd when I shouldn't have.  But Madli and I are back on track again. Woo!

That makes me think of: Self Centered Twat Monkey Edition

You all know the "That makes me think of" game right? No? Well it's sort of a stream of conscious type thing. Or rather how my brain is ALL the time. o.0

ALL. THE. TIME.

So this morning as I was knitting a row or two on my shawl before getting to work (not a normal occurrence, btw but I got up super extra early so thought why not.) I was thinking about my needles and gauge. I'm knitting Madli with my US 4 / 3.5 mm Metal Knit Pick Option Needles. I would be using my wooden ones as I think they have a bit more grip and make nupps and those sorts of things a bit easier BUT I seem to have misplaced my US 4 & my US 5 wooden tips. I have torn my house apart looking for them. I see now that I will have to order another set of tips to replace them. I've also started putting notes in my needle binder that says which project the tips in use are in. Now I just have to be good about putting the needle tips & cords back once I'm finished with them. Novel concept eh? :P

So anyway... as I was pondering my lost needles it made me think of how my gauge has relaxed a great deal in the last year. Used to be I could knit a pair of socks on a US 2.5 or even 3 and still get gauge. Now I'm knitting my sock on US 1.5 and getting the gauge I want for my socks. If I knit on the US 2.5 they are freakishly big. Which sucks as I have several lovely sets of DPN's in US 2.5 that aren't getting any action.

That made me think of how back when I first started knitting this asshat once put me down for having such tight gauge and bragged about how she had to knit with size US 1 needles to get the gauge that most people get when they knit with a size US 8.

Well La De Fucking Da, you Self Centered Twat Monkey.

First of all why should I even care about some strangers gauge. Why did she feel the need to share that and put me down for being a tight knitter. As if having freakishly loose gauge was any better than being a tight knitter?! o.0 Cause it's not. It just is. Just as being a tight knitter just is. Not good or bad, just whatever each knitter should know about themselves so they know how to proceed when they start a project.

So this morning as I was knitting my shawl and thinking about needles and gauge it occurred to me why that person had done that. Granted this was before there were as many online outlets for attention whores to get their "look at me fix", it's because she was a Self Centered Twat Monkey. *L*

That made me think of the most recent atrocities of selfishness this person has committed lately which made me at that time proclaim, "What a Cunt!" to the person who was wronged by the SCTM. Twat Monkey or Cunt Monkey it's all the same. Those people should be avoid at all costs.

Of course this morning as I was knitting it made me think about how much I love the phrase Self Centered Twat Monkey. :D

Sadly I feel like I know wayyyyy too many SCTM's right now. It's pissing me off and making me grumpy. Yet recognizing I have a problem with SCTM's is the first step to solving the problem. The next step will be to remove them from my realm of existence. :D I did that with a group of Self Centered Twat Monkeys last year and I have been soooooo happy not to deal with them.

So if you find you are dealing with Stupid People or Self Centered Twat Monkeys and it's pissing you off the only advice I have for you is to eliminate them from your life.

Or go on a killing spree, depending on the time of month and your tolerance level for such worthless creatures. ;)

Of course you will need to secure bail money, a good lawyer and an alibi if you are forced into the latter option.

Wheeeeeeeeeeee!!

Now that brings me back to the original thought which makes me think and question why my gauge has relaxed so much in the last year. Especially considering how stressed I've been.

Historically during times of stress my gauge has tightened up. My stress hasn't decreased any, though perhaps my knitting style has become more confident. That makes me think of the major change in my knitting in the last year. That would be Cookie showing me her fool proof and most awesome toe up short row toes and heels. That sort of clicked a switch in my head and I have a lot more confidence as a knitter. Even though now the Cookie Cutter Short Row Method is second nature and totally obvious at first I wasn't sure and it was a bit like flying blind. I had to have trust and blind faith it was going to work because my brain could not comprehend how it could work. Even if you were to fail though, it's just knitting. *L*

Now all of that makes me think how even though I'm more stressed I can always count on My Best Friend to be there for me. Even when I suck. That makes me less stressed. Throw in The Honey and Rendog and a few other people who have been added to my solid rocks of stability in the storm of life and you have more relaxed gauge in my knitting even though the world is in chaos. *L*

That makes me think how lucky I am to have the people I love in my life and how those few Self Centered Twat Monkeys don't really matter or bother me too much in the big picture.

But it's still really fun to say SELF CENTERED TWAT MONKEY!! :D

Edit: Damn this is a long post. I should give a virtual chocolate chip cookie to anyone who actually reads the whole self indulgent thing. *L*

The start of something beautiful...

And more than a little fun and satisfying. :D

I'm doing a Madli's Lace Shawl Knit Along with Cookie, Joan and Carrie.

I cast on way too early in the morning on a flight back east on March 1st. (midwest?, but way further east than I am, so it's back east to me. o.0)

Lemme tell ya, casting on to lace in flight is not as fun as you might think. Thankfully I didn't poke anyone's eye out. Though the Flight Attendant serving me the white wine may have thought I was a bit off my rocker. Granted the wine came on the second flight and I was well into the edge chart by then. :P (It was free, as that is the only reason to drink while flying...)

The yarn is Madeline Tosh Silk Lace Weight in the colorway Tourmaline from the Magnolia Society Club last year. Yummy Stuff!

I am loving this project!!

Oh and here's a photo I took when I was out with my brother Rendog on Saturday. I think we were at our third stop of the day... It was a delightful 73 so we were sitting outside enjoying the fair weather. Granted I only completed one pattern row and one purl row, but still without any mistakes. *L*

I've never given up on Resolution # 10, though I have been letting it slack for the most part. Unless I'm hanging out with Rendog that is. I'm going to see him again next week in Los Angeles so let's hope my liver is up to it. :P

I'm wondering which yarn shops to visit while I'm in LA... *giggles madly as my pocket book tries to hide from me*